04 September 2025
Syafrijal S.Kom
A team of lecturers from the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Public Health at the University of North Sumatra (USU) conducted a community service activity entitled "Peer Educator Model in Preventing Stunting in Adolescent Girls through Empowering School Health Cadres."
This activity took place at the Darul Arafah Raya Islamic Boarding School in Deliserdang, involving dozens of female students. The selection of female students as the target of this community service activity was due to their high-risk status as a risk factor in the early stages of stunting. Therefore, female students are also a potential group that requires early intervention in stunting prevention efforts.
The Head of the Community Service Team, Prof. Dr. dr. Juliandi Harahap, MA, Sp.KKLP, led the implementation of this activity along with team members Nenni Dwi Aprianti, SP, M.Si, Dr. Lita Sri Andayani, S.K.M., M.Kes, and Dr. Ernawati Nasution, SKM, M.Kes. This community service activity received full support from the Community Service Institute (LPPM) of the University of North Sumatra. In the opening ceremony, the Head of the Darul Arafah Raya Islamic Boarding School, Dr. H. Harun Lubis, S.T., M.Psi., welcomed the activity and expressed his appreciation for the collaboration with USU in raising nutrition and health awareness among female students.
According to Prof. Dr. dr. Juliandi Harahap, MA, Sp.KKLP, stunting prevention must begin in adolescence.
"If young women are healthy, free from anemia, and have good nutritional knowledge, they will become future mothers capable of giving birth to a healthy and intelligent generation," he said.
She also believes that this empowerment activity for young women, using the peer educator model, can enable trained young women to become agents of change for other young people, both in schools and Islamic boarding schools, as well as in the general community. This activity is crucial considering that the prevalence of stunting in Indonesia is projected to remain at 21.5% in 2023 (SSGI, 2023), and one of the main risk factors is anemia in young women, with a prevalence reaching 32% (Riskesdas, 2018).
Anemia in young women can lead to impaired concentration in learning, decreased productivity, and a high risk of giving birth to stunted children in the future.
This community service activity provides knowledge and skills for young women, and is conducted in two stages.
The first stage, a Training of Trainers (ToT) was conducted on Thursday (July 24th) for 20 high school girls as School Health Cadres. They received intensive training on stunting, anemia prevention, balanced nutrition, adolescent reproductive health, and anemia screening skills through hemoglobin (Hb) testing and nutritional status measurements. The second phase, held on Thursday (July 31), saw the cadres become peer educators, training 80 other adolescent girls at the school. This method was chosen to make the education more effective because it was delivered by peers with whom they have a close emotional bond.
In addition to the education, all participants underwent height, weight, mid-upper arm circumference, and Hb level measurements. The results were used as the basis for personalized nutrition counseling, especially for those at risk of anemia or malnutrition.
"With this approach, it is hoped that stunting prevention efforts can be implemented from adolescence, while simultaneously creating a school environment that cares about nutrition. This activity is also expected to become a model that can be replicated in other schools, both in North Sumatra and other parts of Indonesia," concluded Prof. Dr. dr. Juliandi Harahap, MA.
https://www.waspada.id/medan/usu-pesantren-darul-arafah-raya-bersinergi-cegah-stunting/
